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Sat, February 24, 2007 11:23:38 PMFrom:
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Subject:
[Slashdot] Stories for 2007-02-25
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Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Voltron-Like Modular Robot Demonstrated
* Selling Homeowners a Solar Dream
* Opera CTO Hits Back at Microsoft's Standards Push
* Fuel Efficient Five-Gear Rocket Engine Designed
* Amazon Using Patent Reform to Strengthen 1-Click
* A Bad Month for Firefox
* Software Deletes Files to Defend Against Piracy
* Telecom Refunds $8 Million for Bad Service
* Pendulum Swinging Toward Privacy
* New Technology Could Lead To 3D Printers
* DRM Causes Piracy
* What Vista Is Really Like
* 67-Kilowatt Laser Unveiled
* AACS Device Key Found
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| Voltron-Like Modular Robot Demonstrated |
| from the i'll-form-the-sense-of-self-entitlement dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday February 23, @21:03 (Robotics) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/021210 |
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[0]MattSparkes writes "The 'Superbot', a modular robot that [1]transforms
itself into different shapes in order to walk, crawl and clamber up
inclines, has been demonstrated in at the University of Southern
California. Each bot module is effectively a robot in its own right, and
can move independently, flip over and rotate like wheels. They also have
3D accelerometers that let them know their precise orientation. The six
sides of each module can dock with any other module. Once connected, the
modules can communicate, coordinate shape changes and even transmit
power. The bot's creators hope it will make a great working companion for
places like, say, the Moon. Or Mars."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/021210
Links:
0. http://mattsparkes.org/
1. http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn11238?DCMP=Matt_Sparkes&nsref=modular-robot
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| Selling Homeowners a Solar Dream |
| from the not-like-a-d&d-solar-that-would-be-inefficient dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday February 23, @23:32 (Businesses) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/0410258 |
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[0]slugo writes to mention a Wired article discussing a unique business
looking to capitalize on interest in solar power. The [1]Citizenr company
will install a solar generator on your roof, completely for free. You
then buy power from it, instead of a regular power company, at a fixed
rate that's likely to be lower than the usual power fees. The company
will make money on these usage fees, as well as credits from the federal
government for spreading the use of solar power. If it sounds too good to
be true to you, you're not alone. A number of financial analysts have
warned people away from the company. "The naysayers are finding lots to
say nay to. Much of the criticism is clinging to the company's multilevel
marketing scheme. So far, more than 700 people have enlisted as
independent Citizenr sales agents -- what the company calls 'ecopenuers'
-- or about one sales representative for every 10 customers, with
significant overlap. Heading that sales army is 42-year-old Styler, a
veteran of multilevel marketing and a colorful figure in his own right."
Pyramid marketing and shady business or not, it's an intriguing idea.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/0410258
Links:
0. mailto:reichman@nycap.rr.com
1. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72752-0.html?tw=wn_index_16
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| Opera CTO Hits Back at Microsoft's Standards Push |
| from the going-to-make-the-nighly-news dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday February 24, @01:22 (Microsoft) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/0414208 |
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[0]Michael writes "Opera CTO H?kon Wium Lie [1]hit back today at
Microsoft's push to fast track Office Open XML into an ISO standard, in a
blistering article on CNET. He also took a swipe at Open Document Format:
'I'm no fan of either specification. Both are basically memory dumps with
angle brackets around them. If forced to choose one, I'd pick the
700-page specification (ODF) over the 6,000-page specification (OOXML).
But I think there is a better way.' The better way being the existing
universally understood standards of HTML and CSS. Putting this to the
test, H?kon has [2]published a book using HTML and CSS."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/0414208
Links:
0. http://yeslogic.com/mikeday/
1. http://news.com.com/Microsofts+standards+choice/2010-1013_3-6161285.html
2. http://www.princexml.com/samples/
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| Fuel Efficient Five-Gear Rocket Engine Designed |
| from the next-they-need-to-make-a-death-ray-for-peaceful-purposes|
| posted by Zonk on Saturday February 24, @04:36 (Space) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/0859240 |
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[0]Roland Piquepaille writes "Georgia Tech researchers have had a
brilliant idea. Rocket engines used today to launch satellites run at
maximum exhaust velocity until they reach orbit. For a car, this would be
analog to stay all the time in first gear. So they have designed a new
space rocket which works as it has a five-gear transmission system. This
[1]rocket engine uses 40 percent less fuel than current ones by running
on solar power while in space and by fine-tuning exhaust velocity. But as
it was designed with funds from the U.S. Air Force, military applications
will be ready before civilian ones. [2]Here is how this new rocket engine
works."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/0859240
Links:
0. http://www.primidi.com/
1. http://www.e4engineering.com/Articles/298381/Blasting+off+with+less+fuel.htm
2. http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=497
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| Amazon Using Patent Reform to Strengthen 1-Click |
| from the song-and-dance-routine dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday February 24, @06:20 (Patents) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/0855209 |
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[0]theodp writes "As [1]some predicted, lawyers for Amazon.com have
recently submitted [2]1-Click prior art solicited by Tim O'Reilly under
the auspices of [3]Jeff Bezos' patent reform effort to the USPTO,
[4]soliciting a 'favorable action' that would help [5]bulletproof the
patent. Last June, an Amazon lobbyist referred to deficiencies with the
same prior art as he tried to convince Congress that 1-Click was novel,
[6]prompting Rep. Howard Berman to call BS."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/0855209
Links:
0. mailto:theodp@aol.com
1. http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/ask_tim/2000/bountyquest_1100.html
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20010405100818/www.bountyquest.com/patentinfo/oneclickart.htm
3. http://www.oreilly.com/news/amazon_patents.html
4. http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/400444071_a0776b727b_o.jpg
5. http://www.bromsun.com/media/PostIssuanceStrategiesforPatenteeandThirdParties.pdf
6. http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju28201.000/hju28201_0.HTM#81
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A Bad Month for Firefox |
| from the and-its-bugs dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday February 24, @09:06 (Mozilla) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/1320227 |
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[0]marty writes "Februrary is not a good month for Mozilla developers.
Infoworld reports about the [1]efforts of Polish researcher Michael
Zalewski, who apparently kept finding new vulnerabilities in the popular
browser on a daily basis through the month, first postponing the 2.0.0.2
update, and then finding a [2]remotely exploitable flaw in it immediately
after its release."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/1320227
Links:
0. mailto:martyn2@gmail.com
1. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/23/HNbrowservuln_1.html
2. http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/393921
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| Software Deletes Files to Defend Against Piracy |
| from the users-delete-software-to-defend-against-idiocy dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday February 24, @10:17 (Software) |
| http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/1332224 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]teamhasnoi writes "Back in 2004, we discussed a program that
[1]deleted your home directory on entry of a pirated serial number. Now,
a new developer is using [2]the same method to protect his software,
aptly named Display Eater. In the [3]developers's own words, 'There exist
several illegal cd-keys that you can use to unlock the demo program. If
Display Eater detects that you are using these, it will erase something.
I don't know if this is going to become Display Eater policy. If this
level of piracy continues, development will stop.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/1332224
Links:
0. http://www.theschmoejoes.com/
1. http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/13/1357202&tid=156
2. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37824
3. http://www.versiontracker.com/php/feedback/article.php?story=20070207124614786
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| Telecom Refunds $8 Million for Bad Service |
| from the whoops-our-bad dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday February 24, @11:20 (The Interne|
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/1428211 |
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Gearu writes in with an article about a hefty refund coming to New
Zealanders. It opens, "Telecom New Zealand has admitted it [0]made an
error with its Go Large broadband plan and is to credit customers of the
service. An internal technical review of the service, launched in
October, identified an issue with how internet traffic was being managed
on the plan. The Go Large plan was promoted as having traffic management
applied to certain applications, but since December the traffic
management process had affected all forms of activity. With around 60,000
customers on the Go Large service, the refunds were expected to total
$7.5 million to $8.5 million."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/1428211
Links:
0. http://www.stuff.co.nz/3970782a13.html
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| Pendulum Swinging Toward Privacy |
| from the watch-that-swing dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday February 24, @12:26 (Privacy) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/177208 |
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[0]netbuzz writes "The New York Times reports this morning on a
[1]gathering movement to remove Social Security numbers from online
public records. While justifiable, given the reality of and concerns
about identity theft, it also doesn't take much to [2]imagine how such
concerns will be abused by public officials who are strapped for cash
and/or ethically challenged."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/177208
Links:
0. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=buzzblog
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/24/business/24money.html?ex=1329973200&en=3a82da1eb14df57c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
2. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/11806
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| New Technology Could Lead To 3D Printers |
| from the chemical-origami dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday February 24, @13:38 (Printers) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/1713208 |
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[0]nomoreself writes "PhysicsWeb reports that a team of scientists in
Jerusalem has come up with a method for [1]creating self-assembling
3-dimensional models from a single sheet of paper. The 'chemical origami'
is created by etching a pattern of monomer onto the paper and then
heating it. The chemical's reaction to the heat causes bends of varying
degree in the paper, molding the sheet into the patterned model. A
professor in the US with no apparent ties to the study says in the
article that the technique could be used to create self-assembling
prototypes, or even a printer that prints 3D objects."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/1713208
Links:
0. http://doomsicle.com/
1. http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/11/2/21
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DRM Causes Piracy |
| from the obvious-when-you-think-about-it dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday February 24, @14:46 (Books) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/1730250 |
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[0]igorsk recommends an essay by Eric Flint, editor at Baen Publishing
and an author himself, over at Baen's online SF magazine, Baen Universe.
In it Flint argues that, [1]far from curbing piracy of copyrighted
materials, DRM actually causes it. Quoting: "Electronic copyright
infringement is something that can only become an 'economic epidemic'
under certain conditions. Any one of the following: 1) The products they
want... are hard to find, and thus valuable. 2) The products they want
are high-priced, so there's a fair amount of money to be saved by
stealing them. 3) The legal products come with so many added-on nuisances
that the illegal version is better to begin with. Those are the three
conditions that will create widespread electronic copyright infringement,
especially in combination. Why? Because they're the same three general
conditions that create all large-scale smuggling enterprises. And...
Guess what? It's precisely those three conditions that DRM creates in the
first place. So far from being an impediment to so-called 'online
piracy,' it's DRM itself that keeps fueling it and driving it forward."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/1730250
Links:
0. mailto:skochinsky*SPAMSPAMSPAM*@mail.ru
1. http://preview.baens-universe.com/articles/salvos6
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What Vista Is Really Like |
| from the hotsauce-on-your-meatloaf dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday February 24, @15:58 (It's funny. L|
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/1834224 |
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This waking dream has been making the rounds: what if you woke and found
a strange and beautiful woman in your bed, and she was inscrutible,
unpredictable, and dangerous... but oh so beautiful? [0]That's Vista for
you.
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/1834224
Links:
0. http://chalain.livejournal.com/43015.html
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| 67-Kilowatt Laser Unveiled |
| from the very-big-sharks dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday February 24, @17:11 (Science) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/1816207 |
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[0]s31523 writes "Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California
has announced they have working in the lab a [1]Solid State Heat Capacity
Laser that averages 67 kW. It is being developed for the military. The
chief scientist Dr. Yamamoto is quoted: 'I know of no other solid state
laser that has achieved 67 kW of average output power.' Although [2]many
lasers have peaked at higher capacities, getting the average sustained
power to remain high is the tricky part. The article says that hitting
the 100-kW level, at which point it would become interesting as a
battlefield weapon, could be less than a year away."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/1816207
Links:
0. mailto:crdecker@gmail.com
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6380789.stm
2. http://www.llnl.gov/str/Petawatt.html
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| AACS Device Key Found |
| from the dominoes dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Saturday February 24, @18:20 (Encryption) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/24/2241258 |
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henrypijames writes "The intense effort by the fair-use community to
circumvent [0]AACS (the content protection protocol of HD DVD and
Blu-Ray) has produced yet another stunning result: The [1]AACS Device Key
of the WinDVD 8 has been found, allowing any movie playable by it to be
decrypted. This new discovery by ATARI Vampire of the Doom9 forum is
based on the previous research of two other forum members, muslix64 (who
found a way to [2]located the Title Keys of single movies) and arnezami
(who [3]extracted the Processing Key of an unspecified software player).
AACS certainly seems to be [4]falling apart bit for bit every day now."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/02/24/2241258
Links:
0. http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=122363
1. http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=122664
2. http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=119871
3. http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=121866
4. http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?cat=40
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